


Woe and Weal

by strawberry_sky



Category: Dimension 20, Fantasy High
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dungeons & Dragons, Found Family, Gen, Narrative Montage, Vignettes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2019-10-07 03:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17358149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberry_sky/pseuds/strawberry_sky
Summary: A collection of scenes from the time-skip portion of "Cool Kids, Cold Case." How do we get from the Bloodrush field to the party? How are the Bad Kids dealing with their experiences taking down the Harvestmen in the months that follow the battle with Coach Daybreak? How are these friendships developing now that they're not almost dying every day? Who's still working on the case? How was Fig's oyster funeral? Is Kristen, like, okay?(because damn it you can't just gloss over months of character development and HAPPINESS and expect me to be satisfied with that!)





	1. this time not alone

**Author's Note:**

> I have ideas for like ten different scenes or half-scenes that take place in here, but I'm notoriously bad at regular update schedules so we'll see what happens. but let me know if you like it! and if you have any ideas for other scenes, shoot them my way! I know this fandom is just like, twelve people in a bucket screaming at each other but I can't get the Bad Kids out of my head.

After the Bloodrush battle, after the blood and the pain and the hoards of skeletons, after discovering enough evidence to disassemble an entire cult, there’s not much time for celebration for the six freshmen who have found themselves responsible for more brutality and heroism then any of them (aside from maybe Fabian) would have expected from themselves. It’s a school night, after all.

They depart to their separate homes to sleep off the injury and exhaustion, and when the next day dawns, they pick themselves up, grab books and backpacks, and head in the direction of the Auguefort Adventuring Academy.

Fig Faeth-the-Insatiable and Riz Gukgak walk together from the Strongtower Luxury Apartment. There’s a bit of a chill in the air this morning, fall finally starting to settle, and Fig tucks the hand that’s not holding a cigarette into the pocket of her leather jacket. “Did your mom ever come home last night?”

Riz shakes his head. “She texted me this morning and said she was still going through the evidence. There’s like...a lot. Even more than what we saw.”

“Cool.” Fig cracks a grin and exhales a long puff of smoke into the cloudy sky. “Go us. We solved the case.”

Riz makes a non-committal noise in the back of his throat. “Well, we still haven’t found the Palimpsest that the Harvestmen got from Biz. And we still don’t know why they were kidnapping people in the first place, or who was responsible for Coach Daybreak’s huge salary, or--”

“Oh my God, Riz,” says Fig with exasperation, “chill! Your mom’s on it! We can relax!”

“I thought you didn’t trust authority figures?”

Fig shrugs. “Sure, but I trust your mom.”

So does Riz. But he’s pretty sure he won’t relax until Penny Luckstone is standing in front of him.

He puts his hand over his breast pocket, where Edgar the rat is curiously peering around. There is not a single owl or cat in sight. That, at least, is comforting.

Aguefort’s Bloodrush field is surrounded in crime tape and “Keep Out” signs. Adaine Abernant and Gorgug Thistlespring are already there, leaning against the fence as Riz and Fig walk up.

“Look,” Adaine says, pointing. “You can still see the bloodstains.”

Gorgug wrinkles his nose. “I think that’s my blood.”

“Mine, yours, the owlbear’s, they’re all kind of mixed together.”

“Metal,” says Fig, taking another long drag from her cigarette.

“Can we stop standing here?” says Riz.

There’s a familiar engine roar from down the street, and the four of them turn around to see Fabian Seacaster, tearing toward them astride the Hangman. Fabian peels up right beside his friends and hops off his bike, patting the handlebars as he does so. The bike’s headlight flares in response.

Fabian grins at his friends. “What are we all standing around here for?”

Gorgug points wordlessly at the blood on the field. Fabian nods in appreciation. “Ah, yes. Well fought.”

“Fabian, you should really wear a helmet,” a new voice calls, and they all look over to see Kristen Applebees approaching, staff in hand and _World Religions_ book tucked under her arm.

“What?” says Fabian. “The Hangman is a sentient vehicle, and I have proven myself more than capable of holding on to it even in the most exciting of circumstances.”

Kristen shrugs. “Suit yourself. I was just hoping not to have to mop any of you off the floor for like, a _couple_ of days.”

All of them laugh the uncomfortable sort of laughter that comes when a joke is just a little too close to the truth, trying not to think about the feeling in the pit of your stomach when you take a hit hard enough to knock you out for good, or the golden shock of being yanked back from the brink only to hear battle still raging around you.

As the laughter fades, Riz glances around at the other Aguefort students who are streaming through the school’s doors. “Everyone’s looking at us,” he says in a low voice.

Adaine, Fabian, and Fig look around surreptitiously, while Kristen and Gorgug whip around like dogs looking for a thrown ball. Sure enough, many of the other Aguefort students are whispering together and looking over at the six of them, or gathering at other parts of the fence around the Bloodrush field and pointing at the suspicious bloodstains.

“Did you hear about Coach Daybreak?” “Ragh was there _,_ and he is _fucked up._ ” “People said there was like, a portal to hell?” “I heard those weird kids ripped the coach’s heart out!” “What? Where did you hear _that_?”

“Oh, boy,” Riz mutters under his breath.

“It’s _fine_ ,” says Fabian dismissively. “We’re fucking heroes. Come on.”

Without the slightest hesitation in his step, he heads for the front door, and the others follow.

Adaine feels the same way she did on her first day at Auguefort: like everyone is watching her, like she doesn’t belong here, like this is a strange and violent place. She can feel the panic starting to rise in her throat, the blurring at the edge of her vision.

Kristen must see the terror in her eyes, because she gently touches Adaine’s elbow. “You good?”

Just that is enough to calm Adaine’s breathing. The school is still terrifying, the other students are still piercing her with their judgmental gaze. But this time, Adaine Abernant is not alone.

They’ve barely made it through the front door when they hear a familiar booming voice. “Ah, just the students I was looking for!”

Vice Principal Goldenhoard is striding towards them, wearing a wide, toothy smile. “Would the six of you please accompany me to my office?”

Fig and Riz exchange the look of two people who are both considering making a break for it, but then Fig shrugs a silent _let’s see what’s going on._

There’s only one extra chair in Goldenhoard’s office and no one wants to be the only one sitting down, so all six of them wind up standing in a line in front of the desk while Goldenhoard sits behind it and steeples his large scaly hands in front of him. “So. Am I to understand that yesterday, the six of you used a spell to make a faculty member of this school violently shit his pants and then proceeded to stab him and shoot him in the back of a head with a crossbow?”

Fabian nods affirmation. “That is correct, and we--”

“AND,” booms Goldenhoard, “am I to understand that you killed a fellow student, revivified him, and then proceeded to terrorize him into being your personal protector?”

“Sir,” Adaine begins, “if I could just explain--”

“AND am I to understand that the six of you were previously responsible for crimes and misdemeanors including a dangerous street race that ended in multiple deaths, trespassing on dangerous property, beating up a group of middle schoolers, and releasing a dangerous fiend?”

“Releasing my dad, actually--”

“I JUST want to make one thing perfectly clear.” Goldenhoard leans across the desk, pointing at each of them with a single red claw. “This type of behavior is not simply _tolerated_ here at Auguefort Adventuring Academy. It is CELEBRATED!”

There’s a moment of silence.

“So...so we’re not in trouble?” Gorgug ventures.

Goldenhoard lets out a resounding laugh. “Absolutely not! You kids have done this school proud.”

There’s a great sigh of relief, and then everyone starts talking at once.

“That’s great to hear, sir--”

“I knew there was a reason my father sent me to Auguefort--”

“ _Wow_ , Principal Goldenhoard, you don’t have to make your flirting with me so obvious--”

“Did my mom--I mean the police--tell you anything more about the investigation--”

“Did you--”

“While we’re here, do you know why Coach--”

“QUIET!” Goldenhoard roars, holding up his hand. “I don’t know anything more, I wouldn’t tell you if I did, and I am _not_ flirting with you! I only called you all in here to let you know that the school approves of your actions, that you should feel free to take other actions of a similar nature in the future _IF_ the situation warrants them, and that we will do our best not to let the rumor mill among the students get too out of hand, but really there’s not much I can do about that so you should just be prepared. Now get out of my office, you don’t get to be late for class just because you saved the world or whatever.”

The friends exit hastily with a chorus of thank yous. Gorgug pauses just outside the door. “Um, Vice Principal Goldenhoard? Are you my--”

Before he can finish the sentence, Fabian yanks him out of sight, and Fig throws Goldenhoard a wink as she pulls the door shut.

Goldenhoard blinks, sighs, and lets a single puff of smoke flare out of his nostrils before going back to his paperwork.

“So...great!” says Kristen, just outside the door. “We don’t have to worry about going to detention, I guess. Not that I’d mind, I love detention.”

“What do we even do now?” says Adaine. “I feel like I’ve spent all my time since getting here thinking about corn and palimpsests and graveyards, I don’t even know what to do now that it’s over.”

“Mmmm, it’s not _over_ ,” says Riz.

“Maybe not, but it will be,” says Fabian. “The police are handling it now.”

“And I guess we just go be...normal,” says Gorgug.

They consider this for a moment as the first bell rings.

“Normal,” says Fig. “I can dig it. Come on, Gorgug, we’ve got Barbarian class!” She grabs the half-orc by the back of his hoodie and drags him halfway down the hallway before he flips around to walk beside her.

“I shall see you all at lunch,” says Fabian over his shoulder as he starts off after them.

Kristen holds up her _World Religions_ book. “Do you think anyone in my Cleric class has ever read this?”

“That seems unlikely,” says Adaine.

Kristen shrugs and grins. “Worth a try. See you guys at lunch!”

“You okay, Riz?” Adaine asks, looking down at him.

Riz sighs. “Yeah, it’s just...I just feel like we can’t relax yet.”

“Oh, me neither,” says Adaine. “There’s so much we don’t know.”

“Right? I still feel like we should have done more.”

“Hopefully that’ll go away over the next few days as we learn more about what happened.”

“Maybe. And if it doesn’t, well…”

“Well, we’ll figure it out together, won’t we?”

“Sure.”

“Great.” Adaine smiles. “I’ll see you at lunch, Riz.”

“See you at lunch.”

Riz stands alone in the hallway, staring at Goldenhoard’s closed door. Normal kid stuff. He can do normal kid stuff. Rogue class, and then lunch.

With his friends.

Maybe things will be okay after all.


	2. fuck 'em!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's only so much that even the strongest and happiest person can take, and the aftermath of her home being raided is pushing Kristen about as far as she can handle. Fig's not great at dealing with this sort of stuff, but she'll find some way to make it work.

Fig is sitting on her bed in Gilear’s apartment, leaning against the wall, plucking lazily at the strings of her bass with her new ruby guitar pick. She's taking the time to figure out exactly how it works, since Adaine’s Identify spell had revealed the magical properties of the items each of them had been gifted by their mysterious benefactor.

Well, mysterious to the others, maybe. Fig runs her finger across the words “Gorthalax’s Girl” again and smiles.

It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon, the first weekend since Fig and her friends found the evidence that blew the case against the Harvestmen wide open. Riz has kept them all updated via Kristen’s Prayer Chain about what new developments his mom and the other detectives have come up with in the case. Zayn Darkshadow’s body has been found. Biz Glitterdew has been released from the hospital. There's still no sign of the palimpsests.

On the bed next to her, Fig’s Crystal rings. She picks it up and uses her shoulder to hold it to her ear while she keeps picking at the bass strings. “Mom, if this is you, I’m still at Gilear’s, and--”

“Hey, Fig!” comes the bright voice of Kristen Applebees. “How, uh, how are you?”

“Oh hey Kristen!” Fig says. “I’m good, just playing a little bass. Hang on, check out this sweet chord.” She pulls the phone away from her ear and balances it on her knee while she strikes a chord that she’s been calling a “Q” chord.

“Now, the name of that chord’s in Infernal,” Gorthalax had explained when he taught it to her, “and I’m pretty sure speaking it aloud on this plane summons at least a few fire imps. So we’re gonna go ahead and call it something else.”

“Isn’t it great?” Fig says as she brings the phone back to her ear. “My dad taught it to--”

“I think my parents kicked me out,” Kristen bursts in.

Fig drops the pick and sits up straight. “What? They kicked you out?”

“I mean, I think so? It’s all a little unclear, the police just raided our house and I really didn’t know my parents were so involved with the Harvestmen, I swear, they weren’t on those lists or anything but I guess we were more involved than I thought and things got a little heated and then they were brandishing, like, polearms at me? I mean not in a threatening way but also definitely in a threatening way. And I did make the decision to leave, but also they did shout at me like ‘Ahhh, get that thing out of our house!’ So I think that probably counts.”

“Geez, Kristen, are you okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah.” Kristen pauses for a second. “But can I come stay with you and Gilear? Cause if I really did get kicked out, and pretty much everyone I know is being investigated for being part of a cult…”

“Yes!” Fig says immediately. “Of course! Gilear won’t mind, he mostly just sits on the couch and naps all day anyway. It’ll be fun! Sleepover!”

“Yay sleepover!” says Kristen, with relief but not much conviction.

“Just come on over to Strongtower, I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

Gilear is sitting in the living room, eating yogurt and staring unfocusedly at nothing in particular. “Hey Gilear, my friend Kristen is going to stay here for a while because her family kicked her out because they’re part of a cult, that cool?”

“That’s fine with me,” Gilear says, but Fig is already out the door and bounding down the stairs to the lobby.

The lobby of Strongtower Luxury Apartments is empty aside from several moths flitting lazily around a flickering light. Fig paces back and forth between what looks like two repurposed lawn chairs as she waits for Kristen to show up, already fuming on her friend’s behalf, already thinking of ways they can get revenge on Kristen’s parents.

There’s a knock on the outside of the dusty glass door, and Fig pushes it open to let Kristen in. She immediately pulls the human girl into her arms, already talking: “Oh man, I can’t believe your fucking parents, the nerve of kicking you out when they’re the ones who went and joined a cult!”

“I know, I know,” says Kristen, pulling away from the hug and smiling, somewhat weakly. “Thanks for letting me stay here.”

Fig waves dismissively and starts leading Kristen back up to the apartment. “Of course! It’s gonna be fun! And Riz lives right down the hall, we can all hang out! His mom is honestly the best, I’m thinking about trying to set her up with Gilear.”

They push their way back into the apartment, Kristen explaining exactly what had gone down in the Applebees home, Fig responding with a liberal amount of shock and profanity.

The girls brush past Gilear in the living room. “You can set your stuff down in my room,” says Fig as she opens the door to her bedroom. “I think Gilear’s got an air mattress, maybe, or if not I’ll sneak back into my mom’s house and get...”

Fig’s sentence trails off as she turns around to see that Kristen is standing in the doorway of Fig’s bedroom, tears streaming down her freckled cheeks. “Ahh,” says Fig. “Ahhh, shit, Kristen--”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Kristen angrily brushes the tears off her cheeks. “Sorry, sorry.”

“No, c’mere.” Fig reaches out and pulls Kristen into her arms, rapidly trying to figure out what to say as her friend tucks her head into her shoulder. Fig’s kind of shit at this. She wishes Adaine were here.

Actually, no, Adaine is even worse at this than Fig is. She and Fabian would both just want to go right to Kristen’s house and fight her parents. And Riz is no good either, and Gorgug doesn’t even have a handle on his own emotions.

We’re all kind of a mess, Fig notes in the back of her brain. But Fig’s the one who’s here.

She puts her hand on the back of Kristen’s head, feeling her friend shaking slightly. “I’m sorry, Kris,” Fig murmurs. “This sucks.”

“It’s just--they’re my parents, you know?” Kristen mumbles into Fig’s hair. “I should be able to talk to them about dying and Helio and all the shit we’ve been through. I mean, my mentor tried to kill me and send me to hell! What even is that! And my parents should be furious--but they don’t even believe me!”

“It’s pretty fucked up,” Fig agrees.

“And I don’t even believe in the person who’s the source of all my powers anymore! Everything’s just all fucked up and I don’t know what to do!” Kristen’s fists clench, balling the material of Fig’s t-shirt in her hands as her breath comes out in great shuddering sobs.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Fig says, rubbing Kristen’s back. Then she pulls out of the hug, putting both her hands on Kristen’s shoulders. Kristen stares at the ground and sniffles, wiping the back of her hand across her nose.

“Hey. Look at me,” says Fig, gently tipping Kristen’s chin up. “Kristen Applebees, you are the strongest and coolest person I have ever met. I mean, on the first day you met me, you saved my life and then died and came back to life! How freaking metal is that! We couldn’t have done any of the cool shit we did without you. We’d have all died like, five times by now.”

Kristen lets out a little sniffly laugh, her blue eyes still swimming with tears.

“You’re gonna figure this out, Helio or no Helio. I mean, you’ve still got all your powers, right? So clearly something’s working.” Fig gives the most encouraging smile she can. “And, hey, if your parents don’t appreciate you for the stunning person you are? Fuck ‘em!”

“Aw, come on--”

“No, I’m serious.” Fig’s voice gets lower and firmer. “This is how you deal with things: you let them know you won’t go quietly, that you don’t give a shit what they think and you’re gonna keep doing exactly what you want to. And fuck them if they try to stop you!”

Kristen takes a deep breath and squeezes her eyes shut. “Fuck ‘em!” she says, with surprising vivacity. “FUCK THEM!” It resonates in the little room like a battlecry. When Kristen opens her eyes, she’s standing a little taller and smiling a little brighter.

“Yeah!” says Fig, encouragingly. “Yeah! You’re gonna be just fine, Kristen Applebees.” She loops an arm around Kristen’s waist. “Now, trust me on this--let’s go dye your hair.”


	3. a new status quo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riz isn't entirely sure why all his friends seem to think that their work in this town is done. Fabian is concerned that Riz doesn't understand how to appreciate the perks of heroism. Either way, things are different now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fabian's voice is so hard to get right! anyway. let me know your thoughts, and let me know if you have any suggestions for future scenes!

Riz is skipping Rogue class again. They’re working on lock-picking today, which is always nice to practice, but Riz taught himself how to pick his way out of a set of handcuffs for fun when he was eight years old, so he’s decided there’s better uses of his time.

Instead, he’s sitting at a table in the deserted cafeteria, flipping through the pages of his notebook for the hundredth time, listening to Gilear humming quietly in the kitchen. Riz has been writing down everything that might turn out to be even tangentially connected. Hellmouths, palimpsests, perditional contraduxy, oracles, all these things he’d never even heard of before a two weeks ago are now filling the pages of his notebook, along with plenty of arrows and question marks and unfinished theories.

Riz feels like he’s staring at a puzzle that’s half complete. Two of the edges are done, the picture is taking shape, and you feel a sense of accomplishment. But then you look up and realize the rest of the pieces are still in a jumbled mess, and you’re pretty sure you’re missing some, and everyone who was helping you with the puzzle has decided this is good enough and left you all alone.

Riz slams the cover of the notebook and drops his head into his hands. _I’m still looking, Penny, I promise._

The sound of laughter makes him open his eyes. Fabian is standing in the hallway just outside the lunchroom, talking to a group of guys in letter jackets. They’re all laughing together, and as Riz watches, an upperclassman reaches out and claps Fabian on the back. Fabian’s not even officially on the Bloodrush team, he just kind of started going to practice in the weird limbo of the coach being smashed to a pulp, but already the other players have accepted him as one of their own.

Fabian glances over and sees Riz sitting alone in the middle of the cafeteria, his notebook in front of him, still looking as exhausted and worried as ever. Fabian furrows his brow.

Riz opens his eyes, and Fabian quickly wipes the concern off his face to smile and raise a hand in greeting.

“Oh, yeah, you know that kid, right?” drawls Tristan Windfeather, a tall human senior and an integral member of Dayne Blade’s inner circle. “He’s in your little freshman party?”

“Yeah,” Fabian begins, “we--”

“He’s funny,” smirks Julian, a gnome who’s one of the quickest runners on the team. “Weird, but funny. The Ball, right?”

“Yeah, the Ball!” says Tristan, and all of them laugh. Fabian laughs too, somewhat uncomfortably. The nickname isn’t nearly as fun coming from these guys.

“Anyway, I’ll see you guys at practice,” says Fabian, accepting Julian’s offered high-five and starting to move into the lunchroom.

“Say hi to the Ball for us!” someone calls after him, and Fabian gives a half-smile but no answer.

He swings one leg over the bench next to Riz. “Those guys say hi,” he says, jerking a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the group.

“You can keep hanging out with them, you know,” says Riz. He was too far away to hear any of the conversation except for the final shouted sentence, but he’d gotten the gist.  

Fabian looks taken aback. “What?”

“Well, now that you’re all cool and everything.” Riz is really trying not to sound passive aggressive. He means what he’s saying. “You didn’t _have_ to come over here. It’s useful for us to have party members in multiple circles--”

“Don’t be ridiculous, the Ball,” snaps Fabian, with more heat in his voice than Riz expected. “What, you think I’m just friends with you out of obligation or _pity_? You think I’d be here if this wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be?”

“I just--” Riz tries to break in, but Fabian isn’t done.

“So those guys play Bloodrush, so what? Did they play it with murderous skeletons? Did they topple a fucking skate park golem into a pit of acid? No.”

“I’m just saying, I’m the Briefcase Kid, I’m the Ball, and that’s fine, people like me--”

Fabian makes a doubtful noise.

“See, this is what I’m talking about!” says Riz, pointing at Fabian.

“Okay, okay,” says Fabian, “I’ll admit that’s how things _used_ to be. But things are different now! Haven’t you noticed? Or have you been too busy trying to crack a case we already cracked?”

“First of all, we didn't crack this case--”

“That’s beside the point!” Fabian takes a deep breath. “There’s a new status quo now. We defeated a villain in a grand battle and took down a townwide cult. That’s the tightest shit anyone's done at _least_ this year, and people at this school respect that. This is what you get when you're a hero. You don’t need to just sit in the cafeteria trying to solve a mystery by yourself anymore.”

Riz sits back, considering this. The mystery isn’t solved, isn’t even close, but maybe Fabian’s right. He hasn't gotten any better at putting the pieces together--maybe he really hasn’t been paying enough attention.

“Look, there’s Gorgug,” says Fabian, lifting a hand to wave at the half-orc who is heading in their direction, nodding along to whatever music is playing over his headphones.

Before Gorgug’s entered the lunchroom, two stocky humans that Fabian recognizes as sophomores who didn’t make the Bloodrush team appear seemingly out of nowhere. The shorter one rips Gorgug’s headphones off his head and throws them on the ground while the taller one shoves the surprised Gorgug against the wall of lockers.

“Oh, _hell_ no,” Fabian mutters, getting to his feet and starting towards the door. Riz follows suit, one hand already going to his gun.

Fabian sees this and stops in his tracks. “The Ball, what? You’re just going to shoot these students in the middle of the school day?”

“I wasn’t gonna shoot them, maybe just scare them a little!”

“I was just going to go punch them, drawing a gun seems like an unnecessary escalation—”

Before they can settle on what constitutes unreasonable force, there’s a ferocious yell from down the hallway, and Fabian, Riz, and Gorgug all watch in amazement as Ragh Barkrock takes a flying leap towards the taller bully and tackles him to the ground.

“DON’T! HURT! THAT! GUY!” Ragh is yelling, straddling the bully and punctuating each word with another punch.

“Should we go stop him?” Fabian says, wincing slightly as Ragh lands a particularly savage punch. 

Riz shrugs. “I say let him go a bit more.”

Ragh lands two more punches before the shorter bully manages to push him off long enough to help his friend up and for both of them to take off down the hallway. Gorgug, still standing by the lockers, looks over at Riz and Fabian and gives a shrug and a smile, and then reaches out to help Ragh up.

“See?” says Fabian, gesturing to the two half-orcs. “A new status quo. The upperclassmen think I’m cool. Ragh beats up the people who pick on us. Let’s just enjoy it.”

Fabian gives Riz an affectionate pat on the shoulder and heads over toward Gorgug and Ragh. Riz watches him go. Then he slides his notebook into his briefcase, clicks it shut, and heads over to join his friends.


	4. funny things to be nervous about

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adaine and Gorgug's study session gets derailed by the very cute girl sitting at the other end of the library, but not everyone in this school likes them very much, and after all the crazy shit they've been through this year it's a little bit ridiculous how nervous they still get over ordinary things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise, bitch! bet you thought you'd seen the last of this fic!  
> honestly, so did I, but a combination of the announcement of new content (!!!!) with the sudden influx of fic in this fandom and my own rewatch of the series has gotten me well and truly re-inspired. so have some Adaine and Gorgug <3

Adaine isn’t used to having friends. 

It sounds a little self-pitying to say it that directly, and it’s maybe a little misleading--she did _have_ friends at Hudol, technically, but they’d all been rich, stuck-up little brats whose only topics of conversation had been elven court gossip and the newest pixie-crafted eyeshadow palette. 

( _That’s probably an overgeneralization_ , a smaller, more sensible voice in the back of Adaine’s head reflects.)

At any rate, she certainly isn’t used to having friends like _this,_ and while it’s wonderful most of the time, there are other times when it just gets exhausting. Which was what she appreciates most about her friendship with Gorgug. The two of them are the only ones who are perfectly comfortable being silent in each others’ company, which is what they are doing right now as they sit across from each other at a table in the library during the last class period of the day. Adaine has her spellbook and her “Abjurative and Defensive Charms” homework open in front of her. Gorgug doesn’t really tend to have homework for Barbarian class beyond just “think about something that makes you angry,” but his headphones are on, his eyes are closed, and he’s nodding along to a song she can’t hear. 

There’s a pricking at the back of Adaine’s neck, like someone’s watching her, and she quickly whips her head around. Adaine has spent most of her life being slightly paranoid, and it’s only gotten worse since some of her paranoia has turned out to be justified. This time, however, the eyes watching her don’t belong to a threat, but to a satyr girl with chin length hair and a green hoodie who quickly ducks back behind her book when she sees Adaine looking in her direction. 

Adaine reaches out and taps the back of Gorgug’s hand. He looks up at her, surprised, and pulls out one earbud. 

Adaine jerks her head in the satyr girl’s direction. Gorgug immediately starts turning a brighter shade of green. He flips up the hood of his hoodie and pulls on both strings, his half-orc face disappearing from view.

Interesting. 

“Gorgug?” says Adaine, lightly, barely above a whisper. “Who’s that?”

“Zelda,” comes Gorgug’s muffled voice. 

“And who’s Zelda?” Adaine glances over her shoulder again, as casually as she can manage. The girl is peering over the top of her book with anxiously wide eyes, and then quickly ducks back behind it when she sees Adaine looking. 

Gorgug doesn’t answer. Adaine’s mouth twists into a half-smile. “She’s cute,” she says delicately. 

There’s a moment of silence. Then Gorgug, face still entirely obscured, reaches over and grabs Adaine’s hand, leaving their stuff abandoned on the table as he drags her back into the bookshelves

“You could have just _said_ we should come over here,” Adaine complains mildly, straightening her blazer. 

Gorgug lowers his hood and looks at Adaine with desperation in his big, dark eyes. “She’s so cool,” he says with a little bit of reverence and a little bit of terror. Then he takes in Adaine’s raised eyebrows and clears his throat. “I mean, she’s pretty cool, I guess, I don’t know,” he says with feigned nonchalance.

“Gorgug, it’s fine,” says Adaine with a smile. “You should go say hi!”

“Just ‘hi’?” says Gorgug incredulously. “And then what?”

Adaine has also never been good at talking to pretty girls. “I don’t know! Ask her what she’s reading, or something?” 

Gorgug sighs and rests his forehead against the bookshelf. 

“I’m the worst person to ask for advice,” Adaine says apologetically. 

“I think you give good advice,” says Gorgug, which makes Adaine’s chest feel warm. “Anyway, I already asked Fig and she said I should try winking at her and ‘seductively tying my shoe,’ whatever that means. But then she also said I should play hard to get.”

“Okay, _definitely_ don’t listen to Fig,” says Adaine. “Why don’t you just invite Zelda to that solstice party your parents are having in a couple weeks?”

Gorgug peels his forehead off the bookcase and looks down at Adaine. “You’re a genius,” he says fervently.

“Thank you,” says Adaine, feeling a rush of affection. Gorgug is good and cool, and he deserves someone equally good and cool. 

“Should we write her an invitation or something?” Gorgug suggests. His parents sent out cute little invitations with pictures of smiling gnomes and a tree covered in lights earlier this week.

“Oh, good idea! I have _Illusory Script_ prepared, I can make it look good.” Adaine is getting excited about this now. “Stay here, I’ll grab paper and my orb.” 

“Okay.” Gorgug remains half-crouched behind the bookshelf as Adaine quickly but casually walks back out to the main room of the library.

Zelda is still hunched behind her book, pointedly _not_ looking at Adaine as Adaine pointedly does _not_ look at her. The librarian behind the counter, however, makes no attempt to hide her eyes shooting daggers at Adaine. Turns out stealing from the restricted section on your first day of school does not endear you to the librarian. Adaine shoots the woman a tight-lipped smile as she quickly collects some blank sheets of paper and tucks her orb under her arm. 

Tucked safely back among the bookshelves, she and Gorgug sit down cross-legged in the middle of the carpet and get to work, making use of pen and ink and _Illusory Script_ to craft a lovely little invitation decorated with snowflakes and holly leaves that invites Zelda to the Thistlespring Tree for “music, friends, and snacks!” It’s a lot fancier and more elegant than the initial Thistlespring invitation had been, because Adaine hasn’t seen many invitations that aren’t for an Ambassdors’ Ball or something equally pretentious and elven. 

“Great!” says Adaine, holding up the invitation.

“So now I just go give it to her,” says Gorgug, looking excited but also nervous at the idea.

Adaine ponders this. That is the simplest method, but...

“What if I Mage Hand the invitation over there first?” she suggests. “Then you can just kind of saunter over.”

Gorgug is enthusiastic about this idea, and he and Adaine move through the library until they can crouch behind a low shelf and push aside the Encyclopedia Arcana and get a glimpse of Zelda through the gap in the books. Adaine rests one hand on her orb and carefully lines up her other hand, and her spectral Mage Hand shimmers into existence, deftly lifting the invitation and carrying it across the room toward where Zelda is sitting--

“Miss Abernant!” rings out a sharp voice as a fully physical hand reaches out and snatches the invitation away from Adaine’s Mage Hand.

Adaine’s stomach plunges. She immediately loses focus and drops the spell, and she and Gorgug both straighten up sheepishly to face the librarian, who is staring them down angrily.

“Headed for the Restricted Section _again_ , are we, Miss Abernant?” The full power of her severe-authority-figure gaze is aimed directly at Adaine, the invitation crumpled in the librarian’s fist. 

“No, no that isn’t what I was doing--” Adaine starts to stammer out, but the librarian just shakes her head and narrows her eyes.

“I know girls like you,” she begins, pointing an accusing finger, and Adaine really can’t handle being yelled at, and her throat is closing up and her heart is beating _so_ fast.

Behind the librarian, Zelda is watching them with wide eyes, and then is hastily packing up her stuff and starting to scurry out of the library. Adaine shoots a glance at Gorgug and she can see his fists clenching, his nostrils flaring with anger, and of course he’s angry at her, this is all her fault, it’s her fault this went so poorly, and she’s doing her best to take deep breaths but there isn’t enough air, she can’t get enough air, and the librarian is still talking but Adaine can’t focus on what she’s saying anymore because all she can hear is a rushing in her ears and--

And there’s another voice talking, lower and calmer than the librarian, and Adaine realizes it’s Gorgug, whose fists are still clenched but whose voice is steady, whose anger is directed at the librarian, not at her, and he’s saying something that’s halfway between an apology and an argument and the librarian is _finally_ looking at the crumpled invitation in her hand and then somehow they’re both walking out of the library and out of the school into the parking lot. 

Gorgug isn’t touching Adaine, but she can feel his strong, stable presence right next to her, and it helps her keep putting one foot in front of the other at a normal pace rather than either freezing up or bolting. They keep walking until they’re standing right next to the Hangman, which Fabian always parks in the front corner, where it’s unlikely to get hit but can be seen by everyone. 

Gorgug yells, once, a frustrated “ahhhhh” into the winter sky. Adaine keeps her arms wrapped around herself, but she squeezes her eyes closed and breathes and calms. 

When she opens her eyes again, Gorgug is watching her with concern in his big eyes. “Are you okay?” 

Adaine still can’t talk, but she nods. 

“I got your orb.” 

Adaine takes it, gratefully. It actually gives her comfort to hold onto the orb, at this point. “Thank you,” she manages, and then, “I’m sorry I freaked out.” 

Gorgug shrugs, kicks a rock. “Sorry I got mad.” 

“It looks like you channeled it very healthily, actually,” says Adaine, wiping the wetness of one of her cheeks with the back of her hand. “It’s stupid,” she says, half-laughing at herself. “We’ve done so much crazy shit this year, and we still panic over talking to a cute girl or getting yelled at by a librarian. They’re just funny things to be nervous about.” 

“Well, she was a scary librarian,” Gorgug says with a half-smile. 

Adaine returns the smile. They stay out in the parking lot, shivering in the December air and feeling their heart rates slowly come back to normal, until school ends and the others come out and Fig and Kristen can go back into the library to get the rest of their stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me at drinkingdeadpeopletea.tumblr.com!


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